March 28, 2023

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[THE INVESTOR] Mirae Asset Capital and internet giant Naver have decided to invest 56 billion won (US$50 million) in Indonesian e-commerce startup Bukalapak, seeing its great potential, according to sources on Jan. 17.

“We decided to invest in the e-commerce startup as it is one of the few that have shown exponential revenue growth since 2014,” a source from Mirae Asset Capital, affiliate of Mirae Asset Group, told The Investor.

Bukalapak, meaning “open a stall” in Indonesian, was launched in 2010, where individuals as well as established businesses can trade all types of products on the platform.

The firm now deemed as a unicorn -- startups with a valuation of over US$1 billion -- will likely see its market cap surpass US$40 billion by 2022 thanks to the overall growth of the e-commerce industry in the nation, according to market research firm McKinsey & Co.

The Indonesian e-commerce market is forecast to increase from US$8 billion in 2017 to US$65 billion by 2022.

The company’s major shareholders include Ant Financial Services Group, a fintech affiliate of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.

Mirae Asset Group set up the Asian Growth Fund last year, aimed at investing in promising startups and technology-related firms in Southeast Asia. Naver also took part in the fund to profit from the fast-growing e-commerce industry there. The fund has also invested US$150 million in Grab, often referred to as “Uber of Southeast Asia.”

By Yoon Yeun-jung (kairos07@heraldcorp.com)